Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Between Worlds ❯ Prologue: Destiny Awaits: A Normal Life ( Chapter 1 )

Prologue: Destiny Awaits

A Normal Life

Endless blue sky surrounded her on all sides and she didn't know where she was. The feeling of weightlessness pressed her consciousness and she suddenly realized that she was suspended in mid-air. She was here again. She didn't exactly know where here was, but she'd been there before. And it all felt so familiar.

A floating white object caught her eye and she stared at it. A gust of wind swept her hair and more of the stuff tumbled into her view.

Feathers.

There are feathers, floating in the air.

Her voice echoed strangely here. A dark shadow crossing her line of vision and then suddenly disappearing out of sight again.

She whirled around, refusing to let the shadow avoid her, and saw... Professor Manzuki's squashed face, his usual rotten look plastered on it, leering down at her.

His nasally toned voice spoke, sounding unpleasant, "Miss Amano, the answer, please?"

"What…" Samuri snapped out of her odd vision with a violent jerk into reality. She blinked a couple of times to clear her vision, her wide silver eyes baffled.

Derisive snickers filled the classroom. She was in biology, one of the most boring, tedious subjects in the entire world in her opinion. Her too sympathetic classmates obviously thought that she was trying to be a smart aleck or that she had been spacing out (which was unfortunately true).

"The answer, Miss Amano," repeated Professor Manzuki curtly.

"Uh... ten?" Her frantic gaze flew about the classroom, trying to find an answer or at least a sympathetic face. She found neither. Most of her wonderful classmates were hiding smiles or laughing outright at her complete confusion and loss of words.

"Incorrect. Class, please inform Miss Amano the correct answer." Professor Manzuki's mouth pursed and distorted itself, as if tasting something extremely sour.

"The fetus," chorused the rest of the class, voices sounding smug.

Samuri flushed bright red with embarrassment and lowered herself into her seat.

"You might have known the answer, Miss Amano, if you had been paying attention to the question, which was?" His right eyebrow flew up, almost disappearing under his receding hairline, as he bent forward to inspect her more closely. She cringed away, trying to cut off eye contact.

"Uh..." She disappeared even lower behind her desk and flushed redder than ever.

"'What is one of the earliest stages an infant is inside the uterus?' was the question, Miss Amano. Of course as the Romans once said: 'Errare humanum est', the error is only human. Pay attention in class next time, Miss Amano." He pulled back from Samuri to her immense relief and turned to the rest of the class to announce their homework for that night.

The bell rang and drowned out even more snickers and some groans from Samuri's classmates. Samuri left quickly, after scribbling down her homework. The load seemed to be more than usual, probably because of Samuri's little nap during class.

"Geez, Sams! How can you just space out like that in class and pass it with like flying colors?!" called a cheerful voice from behind Samuri, high pitched and full of laughter.

"Yeah! I have to study day and night to scrape good enough grades and you don't do a thing and skip by with 'cum laude'!" echoed yet another voice, less perky and more serious.

Samuri glanced behind her and caught sight of her two best friends, Imogen and Kay, running and scrambling to catch up with her.

"Yeah sure. Like you need to study 24/7 to ace Bio, Imi," she replied teasingly, slowing down.

"Well, at least I don't doze in class." Imogen stared pointedly at Samuri. Samuri went pink and shoved Imogen good-naturedly.

Imogen and Kay were total opposites with different opinions and different views, but always had been and always would be the best of friends. Imogen was a petite brunette with long hair braided in a thick plait down her back with wide, round spectacles framing her face. She had the best grade point average in their entire sophomore class, tied only with Samuri. Kay was a tall blue-eyed blonde with fashionable short hair and a habit of failing every class she took, including home economics. They both detested sports and getting sweaty, which was where Samuri excelled. Samuri, being the black haired, silver eyed, athletic genius that she was, still couldn't quite comprehend how they had become best friends.

"Finally, there's someone else Professor Head picks on! I was starting to think I was the only one he hated." Kay flashed a lopsided grin that only she could pull off just right.

"Hey! Et Tu, Brute!" Samuri feigned hurt, putting on a champ melodramatic tragedy act.

"Yep! And you know you guys shouldn't speak Latin in front of me. It reminds me too much of Professor Head. He quotes Latin like his life depended on it!" she retorted cheerfully, not at all perturbed into guilt.

Samuri rolled her eyes and said with disbelief, "I still don't understand how you got that dumb nickname for Professor Manzuki. He's got the smallest head I've ever seen!" A hint of a laugh twinkled in her mercury-hued eyes.

"My point exactly!" She held out her hands, as if stating the obvious to two children who wouldn't understand otherwise. Both Imogen and Samuri snort, trying to hide their laughter behind very fake 'coughs'.

"And the way he always calls you Miss Amano all the time. It's like he's talking some alien language. He might as well call me Cyborg 21 and Imi ET for all that I understand," continued the blonde airily. At this they were snorting and 'coughing' so hard that they had to stop walking to breathe.

"Stop being such a ditz," said Samuri once she stopped 'coughing' and she started walking again.

"By the way where are we headed now," said Imogen curiously, glancing at her wristwatch.

"To the track, I've got practice, today," replied Samuri, nonchalantly. She ran-in-place for a moment, punching her hands in the air ahead of her, to emphasize her point.

"And you're a great sprinter, too," input Kay sulkily.

"Must come from the genes of my dad," said Samuri, leaning sideways to pinch Kay's nose.

"He's definitely track star material. Look at all those trophies he's won. Also he got that scholarship, for track, to college here. A good thing too, otherwise you'd be in Japan instead of in the U.S. with us," said Imogen factually, grinning at Kay who had an extremely red nose and was crossing her eyes trying to get a good view of it.

"I'd say your dad's definitely a looker. King of all the hunksters, I tell you. Your mom sure is lucky to have such a cute looking husband. What I'd give to be Mrs. Susumu Amano," said Kay, rolling her eyes and sighing dreamily. Although she had abandoned all attempts of looking at her nose, she had begun rubbing it so energetically that it was getting even redder.

"He's about thirty years older than you, and not getting any younger," retorted Samuri, suppressing more laughter at Kay.

"Kay, I don't think the rubbing is helping your nose. And Sam, exactly what time is your practice?" said Imogen, practical as ever and glancing at her wristwatch again.

"What?" said Kay cluelessly, still rubbing her nose and once again looking cross-eyed to see her nose.

"Why are you asking, Imi? It's at precisely two o'clock. It's always at precisely two o'clock. Coach is extremely nit-picky 'bout that," answered Samuri absently, as she stuck her tongue out at Kay.

"I'm asking, my innocent, naive Sam, 'cause it's precisely quarter after two," said Imogen, raising an eyebrow querulously.

"WHAT!" Samuri cried in alarm, her eyes widening immediately. "Oh no! It's the second time this week that I've been late! Coach is gonna freak! I'd better sprint for it." Samuri started sprinting away from her friends in the then empty hallway, her bag flying behind her, pencils and blank sheets of papers clattering behind in her trail.

"We'll be cheering for you in the bleachers," called Imogen after her disappearing form.

"And yelling at Coach for yelling at you," echoed Kay, now trying to move her eyes which were frozen cross-eyed. Imogen sighed and started helping Kay to unstick her eyes.

Standard Disclaimer: nope, don't own the Visions of Escaflowne, but I do own all new characters, so please don't take 'em :)

* Author's Notes *

hey all!

This is my Escaflowne continuation fic. As I've explained in my review, Hitomi's back on Gaea (by some mysterious way that I do not know), married to Van, and has got a son, Balin, who is the main focus of the next chapter. And, of course, this chapter is focusing on the Earth-view of everything. Basically these beginning chapters r the prologue to what's going to happen. Okay, now onto the next chapter…

-w.r